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Two New Products For Your Alfa Romeo GTV6

December 5, 2023 Ian

New Hood Prop Support

We just released a few new products to help keep your Alfa Romeo GTV6 on the road, or at least looking good while you enjoy it!

First up are the seat release buttons that tend to break at this age.  My Alfa Romeo GTV6 was missing one when I bought it, and I figured nobody was ever going to reproduce them.  But, thanks to the magic of 3D printing, I was able to create a pair that works well and is close to the original design!  I made a pair for my GTV6 and also made some extras, so if you don’t have a 3D printer you can just purchase one of these. Click here if you would like to purchase a pair.

GTV6 Right Seat Knob
GTV6 Right Side Seat Back Release Button – Reproduction

New Hood Support Prop Guide

The second item is one that I am even more even excited about –  a new hood support prop guide.  Most of them have broken over the years from the under-hood heat, including the one on my car. This is the new reproduction below on my GTV6.

New hood support prop guide we produced

I recently tried a new hood support prop guide that was made from PLA plastic. I was excited to have a hood prop guide again, but after my first drive, the plastic guide warped. The next time I opened the hood I couldn’t remove the hood support from the plastic guide.  The only way I found to release it was to break the top of the guide off. You can see the broken version at the bottom of the photo below. Note how the base has warped, the top piece had also warped and shrunk, trapping the metal hood support.

Various GTV6 Hood Prop Guide Reproductions
Various GTV6 Hood Prop Guide Reproductions

I looked into different materials and learned that PTEG has better stability, and doesn’t deform at the same temperature as PLA. It wasn’t a surprise then that it warped the first time I drove the GTV6.

Purchased guide on top and bottom. Our reproduction in the middle. Warped guide on bottom
New guide on top and bottom. Our reproduction in the middle. Warped guide on bottom

We are also making these available for purchase. I believe these will hold up better than a PLA version, and are a bit closer to the original Alfa design. I have tested it on my personal GTV6 in summer heat with no issues.

Two hood prop support guides
PLA hood support guide on left, PTEG on right
Purchased hood support guide on left, ours on right
PLA hood support guide on left, PTEG on right

Click here if you would like to purchase one, or click here to go to our shop and see all the products currently available. Please check back as we launch more products to help keep your vintage Alfa Romeos on the road!

New Product: Alfa Romeo U-Bend Hard Fuel Line

April 25, 2023 Kim

What is The U-Bend Fuel Line?

The U-bend fuel line that we created is designed to replace a molded, high-pressure, rubber fuel hose on the outlet of the Alfa Romeo GTV6 or Milano fuel pumps.

Alfa Romeo Fuel Line 180 degree U Bend 8mm 5/16"

Alfa Romeo Fuel Line 180 degree U Bend 8mm 5/16″

8mm hard fuel line 180 degree U bend for Alfa Romeo Milano and GTV6 chassis

$19.95
Shop now
U-Bend will prevent hose from kinking
U-Bend after installation
Kinked hose

The GTV6 and Milano share the same basic engine, transaxle, and suspension design, but on some years and models, the fuel pump is on the passenger side, and on others, it is on the driver side.  On models with the fuel pump on the driver’s side, the rubber hose coming out of the fuel pump has to turn 180 degrees before going into a hard line that takes the fuel from the driver to the passenger side of the car, where the fuel filter is located.  

Who Should Buy The U-Bend Fuel Line?

If you have a 1981-1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 or 1987-1989 Alfa Romeo Milano V6 and you plan to replace the fuel pump, rubber fuel hoses, or fuel filter, you should check your fuel filter layout to see if you need this fuel line and inspect your molded rubber hoses for cracks or age.  If those hoses are older than 10 years, we recommend replacing them.  

The fuel hoses going into and out of the fuel pump are 8mm or 5/16” inner diameter and should be rated for high-pressure fuel injection.  If you are replacing your fuel pump, we recommend replacing all those high-pressure lines near the pump and using this U-bend to replace the original molded hose, which is no longer available.

List of models that the U-Bend line will work for: 

1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1982 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6

1987 Alfa Romeo Milano 2.5 V6 (Silver, Gold or Platinum Trim)

1987 Alfa Romeo Milano 3.0 V6 (Verde Trim)

1988 Alfa Romeo Milano 2.5 V6 (Silver, Gold or Platinum Trim)

1988 Alfa Romeo Milano  3.0 V6 (Verde Trim)

1989 Alfa Romeo Milano 2.5 V6 (Silver, Gold or Platinum Trim)

1989 Alfa Romeo Milano  3.0 V6 (Verde Trim)

Personal Story: Why We Developed The U-Bend Fuel Line

In 2017, I replaced the fuel pump on the 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano we were building for the 24 Hours of Lemons series.  The rules state that the fuel system must be original, or you need to switch to a racing-approved fuel cell which is expensive and time-consuming.  So our goal was to keep the fuel system as original as possible.

We discovered that the high-pressure molded rubber fuel hose that comes out of the fuel pump is no longer available for sale when we went to order the fuel pump.  So back in 2017, when we replaced the fuel pump and all the old rubber hoses, we just used a longer piece of straight fuel hose in hopes that the larger bend radius would keep the hose from kinking.  However, that did not fix the problem because when we inspected it again this year before our latest race, we found that the hose had kinked and was likely blocking some flow, and was also at risk of cracking.

Since we had some extra NiCopp tubing left over from some brake upgrades, we decided to make a hard 180-degree U-bend to eliminate this potential failure point.  And it performed flawlessly over 16 hours of full-throttle racing at the last event.

Alfa Romeo Fuel Line 180 degree U Bend 8mm 5/16"

Alfa Romeo Fuel Line 180 degree U Bend 8mm 5/16″

8mm hard fuel line 180 degree U bend for Alfa Romeo Milano and GTV6 chassis

$19.95
Shop now

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